PLN 15

In the article "School would be great if it wasn't for students" by Alfie Kohn, it states that instead of blaming teachers for students failing, we need to start blaming the students. I think this is important because it's not always the students fault that they are failing. Sometime the teachers don't go over what the student needs to know enough or they somehow give a student false information, causing the student to fail. But on the other hand, the student can ask for help or come in on their own time for help. So this can really be a two sided argument. But which side would you pick? If you go into an active school environment like I do everyday, you can hear people talk about how they do in school. Mostly you here negitive coments like "I'm failing this class" or "I'm failing that class." But then you have to wonder why. The answer lies in the class room. How does the student behave? Do they do they're work? Or does the teacher not teach. The answer to why the student is failing lies within those questions.

PLN 14

All mandatory evacuations from the wildfire in Boulder were lifted this morning after the fire that burned 140 acres became 70% contained. In the article "Boulder Residents evacuated sue to wildfire can return home" by the Denver Post, it explained that a wildfire broke out near the city of Boulder, forcing people to be evacuated from their home. What matters is that the fire caused 1600 homes to be evacuated after burning only 140 acres. This is important because alot of people were forced to leave their homes and their possessions behind and they didn't know if it would be there when they get back. The fire is now 70% contained and at 10 am people were aloud back into their homes. I believe we must have one of the best fire protection programs in the country just based on the fact that we have been putting out a large amount of fires quickly. We have dedicated officials on the job getting the job done. Colorado has a history with bad fires so it means a lot to the state to have a good fire department. We have some of the best Fire/ rescue programs in the country ranging from Littleton Fire/rescue to Estes Park Fire/rescue and more. I think that I can show alot of faith in the states fire departments just based on how quickly they respond and get the fire put out.

PLN 13

I read "Googley Advice" for PLN 13. I found several important facts. What matters to me from this article is what google looks for in a learner. They look for  analytical reasoning, communication skills, a willingness to experiment, team players and passion and leadership. I think these are important because they show good qualities in people. If a person has all of those, they can be a diverse thinker and a great leader. Even if a person doesn't posses all those characteristics, they can be good in certain places. It's good to have a wide variety of things you can do. You don't have to be good at everything. If you try hard at something, eventually you can be good at it. For example, did you know that Thomas Edison tried over 2000 times to make the filiment for the incondecent light bulb. When asked about it he said "I never failed. I just found 2000 ways not to make the light bulb. But there was only one way to make it work." I think this shows that the characteristics of this man helped put his name in every history book. He had to expiriment over 2000 times to make the right filiment for the incondecent light bulb. But he never quit. He put his mind on the project and followed through. If we all set out mind to something and attempt to follow through with all we have, our named can be in the history books. Another example is from 1933. A man named John Dillinger led a series of organized bank robberies and prison breaks in Chicago. During one robbery a man set all of his change on the counter. Dillinger said that he wasn't there for civilian money. He was there for the banks money. In an interigation sesson Dillinger was asked how long it took him to get into a bank, stael the money and leave. He said "oh about 1 minute, 7 seconds.....flat." Everyone laughed at him but the fact of the matter is he set his mind to get in, grab the money and leave in under a minute and a half. He is in all the history books as the fastest bank robber of all time. So the point is, those men put their mind on a project and followed through and are now known by history.

PLN 12

I read the article "Victims identified in fatal C-470 crash" in the Denver post. What matters about this is that the victims of a crash on monday were finally identified. The driver was 57 years old and she died. The passenger was a 10 year old girl who remains hospitalizes. The importance in this is that the Denver police department were finally able to identify victims in a crash on monday. It was a short amount of time so that shows that the denver police department is quick at finding evidence and were quickly able to solve the mystery.

PLN 11

In the article and video "2020 Vision" in The Fischbowl i found severasl important things. What matters to me is that now resorces are easier to get at school thanks to BYOB or bring your own laptops. This struck me as important because now we can use our own resorces in our learning enviornment. This saves money toward our school budget because now we don't have to buy expensive computers for every student in the school. Now we can put that money toward more important things that support our education. Education will change in the next few years and the class of 2020 will be the class of the future because they will have seen it all. The problems with education and the high points of education.

PLN 10

I read the article "Health issue likely led to crash that killed Denver couple" in the Denver Post. What matters to me is that a man had heart complications that likely let to his car turning into a tree and flipping into a parking lot, killing him and his wife. This is important because it makes me wonder exactly what happened that day that made that car crash. The police department concluded that the man died of heart disease and his wife died of injury's acquired at the scene of the crash. Further information will be released when more information is known. I think this should lead to further research into heart disease so that we can prevent this from ever happening again. If we can prevent death from not only the diseased but the Innocent people with the diseased people than we can prevent a lot of known deaths in the United States.

PLN 9

In the article "Rigor Redefined" I found many things important. What matters to me are the questions, "what skills will students need to build successful careers? What skills will they need to be good citizens? Are these two educational goals in conflict?" I think the skills listed in the article are essential to both forms of situations such as work or social. Critical thinking is good because it helps you solve problems in either work or life situations. It's also good to have collaboration and leadership because then when you have group projects or social events, you can get help from others, and if the team or group isn't doing the right thing, then you or someone else can take leadership and get everyone back on track. The last essential I thought was really a key in this article is communication. I think that communication is key because if something is wrong then you can tell someone exactly how they can help you. Also some people learn differently than others, so communication can help you tell someone that you don't understand how something works or why it is done the way it is done.

PLN 8

I read the article "Officials investigate homicide after hikers find body near Silver Plume." In this article, what I found important was that a body was found in Silver Plume and was identified as a 31 year old man from Kiowa, Colorado. The Clear Creek County police department identified the body as a man named Conrad Keith Crall. The importance in this is that it makes me wonder how it happened. The case is being investigated as a homicide but why is it being investigated as a homicide. Is there any proof that this could be a murder? No further information has been released from this investigation.